Sherried Baked Fruit

Brunch is a big part of Christmas morning for many of us. This Sherried Fruit recipe works well for "make ahead, bake while you're opening presents and eat leftovers cold later". It's also good poured over pound cake, pudding or ice cream. When my daughter and son-in-law were married 4 years ago in early December, I served this the morning after to our out of town guests. I tripled the recipe and (of course) made it several days ahead. You can substitute your favorite fruits, just keep the total amount the same so that you won't have it floating in sauce.

Sherried Baked Fruit
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
Grated rind and juice of 1 orange
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup sweet sherry
1 (29-oz.) can pear halves in juice, drained
1 (29-oz.) can peach halves in syrup, drained and reserve juice
1 (20-0z.) can pineapple chunks, drained
1 (14-oz.) can spiced apple rings, drained
1 (17-oz.) can apricot halves, drained

Combine melted butter and flour in small saucepan over medium heat, blending until smooth.  Stir in sugar. Slowly add lemon juice, orange juice, spices, peach juice and sherry, stirring constantly until thickened. Stir in grated lemon and orange rind. Pour over drained fruit in a 2-quart baking dish. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve warm, room temperature or cold. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.